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Tampa Bay - South Shore
Capt. Fred Everson
February 3, 2006
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report
A relentless incursion of cold fronts is keeping most anglers off the bay. Those braving the weather are catching a few fish but it’s nothing like a blitz. Fishing has been typically slow for more than two weeks, but that’s hardly unusual in midwinter with average weather.
A few grouper have been caught on the Port Manatee reef on frozen squid, but the bite has been tepid, at best.
Ahead of the mid week cold snap, the best action on the Southshore was around the TECO power plant in Apollo Beach. Big schools of jack crevalle were roiling the surface near the hot water outflow, but it was no secret. Dozens of boats honed in on the action with fish hooked up in all directions; navigating the channel in and out of Apollo Beach was a little more challenging than usual because of all the lines.
The best report I had this week came from Capt. Byron Chamberlain, a fly fishing guide who sometimes works out of the Little Manatee River. He said he found a school of big redfish just south of Sand Key, and that half of the fish looked to be oversized. One of the fish landed by his client was well over the slot – a considerable battle on fly tackle.
There are still good numbers of trout coming out of Mag’s Hole, along with some sheepshead. On my last trip I had an osprey strike a trout as I was reeling it in. The bird sat on the water and held so tight to the fish that I thought he might be hooked, too. I eventually managed to pull the fish away from him. The short trout did not survive the encounter, however, and the osprey probably got it anyway.
Visit Capt. Fred online at www.tampabayfishingguide.com or call Shell Point
Bait and Tackle at (813) 641- 3662.
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